The Love of God

It is said that R.A. Torrey earnestly sought God’s face, and one day while he was reading the Scriptures and praying, he was so overwhelmed with a profound consciousness of God’s love for him that he began to weep and weep. Eventually he asked God to show him no more: he could not bear it.

In prayer, my friend had a vision of herself
In a shallow pool.

She asked for more.
An enormous ocean stood behind the pool.

My love is even greater than this ocean,
And you experience only this shallow pool.

And yet …
It is enough.

Progression

It began in a garden
And ends in a city.

The Garden of Eden
To the New Jerusalem.

But could we not also say
That it began in a field

And ends in a feast,
The best farm to table story

Ever.

Supping as Proclamation II

We think of Communion,
That divisive sacrament,
As something

Ceremonious
(But also
Could it be
Sustenance?)

Commemorative, of the past
(But also
Could it be
Eschatological,
Looking at our present betrothal
And future wedding?)

Sacred, set apart
(But also
Could it be
Poured out for all,
Available?)

Traditional
(But also
Could it be
Counter-cultural, revolutionary,
The rich and the poor,
The Jew and the Greek
Feast
Together?)

Supping as Proclamation

When we want to meet God, we Christians … gather and break bread in Jesus’ name. That’s where he has chosen to meet us, that’s where our eyes are opened and we recognize him. We pray ‘Give us this day our daily bread,’ not just as a survival strategy; no matter how much bread we get, we shall not survive. In praying for daily bread we are praying for daily presence of God among us.

After a day of walking and teaching,
Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it,
And gave it to them.
Then their eyes were opened,
And they recognized him.

The King came not with an honor guard.
He did not command worship.

He taught. He blessed. He fed.
What kind of a backwards Kingdom is this?

Laundry

I stuck clean clothes in the dryer today
And remembered my friend,
Who, when Caleb was newborn and his diapers kept failing,
Took my laundry each week and listened for it
During community group.
I felt again the loss of her.

The Piano

I have longed for piano lessons for the boys.

One program never worked well.
I had visions of Chopin, and ended up with nothing.

One program taught chords,
But we never got beyond that, without music notation.

A friend mentioned an online course.
I watched the first one and almost cried.

Singing solfege.
A simple technique to train the fingers.

Boys who stayed up late and later
To practice singing, “Hot Cross Buns.”

The next day: posture.
Proper finger position. No one has ever mentioned this.

I woke up happy just thinking about it.
What a gift.

During a Business Call

The baby came in while I was on the phone,
And together we watched
A common five-lined skink
Slink along the window screen.
The beautiful blue tail
Shone in the sun, as it flipped with gravity,
As the skink traversed the screen again and again.